Ilya Bannik was born in Nikolaev (Ukraine). He entered the Glinka Academic
Capella Choral School in St Petersburg in 1980. Performed in the Capella Boys’
Choir. Between 1990 and 1995 he studied at the Herzen State Pedagogical
University. In 1994 he entered the vocals faculty of the St Petersburg State
Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire (class of Professor Georgy Seleznev), from which
he graduated in 1999. Soloist with the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers
from 1999. Soloist with the Mariinsky Opera Company since 2009.

In 2005, he took part in new productions of War and Peace (Îpéra Bastille,
Paris) and Iolanta (King René, Royal Albert Hall, London). Has taken part in the
Italy’s Verdi Festival and the UK’s Glyndebourne Festival, appearing as Banco
(Macbeth). He has also performed under such conductors as Valery Gergiev,
Plácido Domingo, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, Justus Frantz and Carlo Rizzi. Has
toured to the UK, Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Finland, the USA and
towns throughout Russia.